


The Crow's Offspring(Discontinued)

by EboneeTheWinterMaiden



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-05-31 01:32:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15108998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EboneeTheWinterMaiden/pseuds/EboneeTheWinterMaiden
Summary: What if Qrow had a child Fanfiction. What if he was engaged to a Huntress and left her before he knew she was pregnant, in order to protect her? What if she had abilities not very many others had? Read and find out!I will be following the anime, but there will be some changes.





	1. A new Friend

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for giving my story a chance. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, Only the Original characters, Ebonee Merle Blake, Rouge Micheals and a couple other characters; Starfield Academy, While my friend owns Bao Chae-Won & Morgan Pendragon. All rights go to Monty Oum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read through this; realized sooooo many typos and then realized that the description of my character was incorrect, oops. SHE DOES NOT HAVE BLONDE AND BLUE HAIR!!!!. (Smashes hand to forehead)

She strolled through the city of Vale looking at all the sights when she ran right into a girl around her age with back hair with red ends and silver eyes wearing a black and red dress, with a red cloak. She herself wore a red thigh-length fighting kimono with a black obi wrapped around it. On her legs she wore a pair of black knee length tights and red boots with a little black bow, at the top of the boot in front.  


"I'm sorry!" She squeaks out. 

"That's okay." The girl answers. 

"Are you okay?" She asks. 

"I'm fine. No damage on me!" The girl answers. "Are you okay?“

“Yeah. I'm okay as well."

"That's good. Anyway, my name is Ruby Rose. What's yours?"

"Ebonee. Ebonee Merle Blake. Nice to meet you, Ruby." Ebonee answers.

"You too, Ebonee." Ruby says. "So, what are you doing in Vale?"

"Just sightseeing. Needed a change of scenery." Ebonee answers Ruby. "In two years, I plan on going to Beacon Academy."

"Which Academy are you going to now?" Ruby asks. 

"Starfield Academy in Vacuo."

"Sweet! I go to Signal Academy here in Vale." 

"So, what kind of sights are here to see? What do you recommend?" Ebonee asks. 

"Well, I was heading to the dust til dawn shop. Wanna join?" Ruby asks. 

"Sure!"

Several hours later, both girls were in the Dust Til dawn shop, both looking at the same weapons magazine. A group of men; one with a white coat, orange-ish hair and a bowler hat smoking a cigar; and the others in black suits; enter the shop and starts pulling out several cylinders and filling them up with dust. Two of the other henchman each bring another cylinder to another tube and hears the muted songs of This Will Be The Day by Jeff and Casey Lee Williams coming from the Ruby's headphones and Excuses by Meghan Trainor coming from Ebonee's headphones he unsheathes his sword and walks to behind them.

"Alright kids, put your hands where I can see 'em." There was no response from either of the girls. "Hey, I said hands in the air! You got a death wish or something!??" He turns Ruby around and Ebonee turns around as well. The henchman motions for them to lower their headphones and they do so.

"Yes?" Ruby answers.

"I said, put your hands in the air, now!"

"Are you... robbing us?" Ebonee asks.

"Yes!" 

The two girls look at each other briefly. "Ooooohhhh....."

The Bowler Hat guy up front was waiting for his men to finish when he heard two "Hey!"s and two "Hyah!"s before the henchman flies past him and through the window. Bowler Hat calmly motions for the henchman to deal with both girls.

"Freeze!" one of the henchman says. Outside the shop both Ruby and Ebonee stood up as the red colored weapon Ruby has, unfolds to form a scythe and the white hilts open to form two katana's. Bowler Hat scowls, while Ruby and Ebonee smiles. Ruby twirls the weapon around before striking the ground, and Ebonee steps into a comfortable pose, both turning off their headphones

"Okayyy..." He says before waving the to the other henchman. "Get them!"

The henchmen head out of the shop and run at Ruby and Ebonee, Ruby spins around on top of her scythe and kicks the first approaching criminal in the face; while Ebonee dodges the second one, jumped up and kicked him in the back of the head, sending him towards the asphalt several feet away. She gets Crescent Rose out of the ground and fires it off to hit another one with the butt of her weapon, sending him flying. Ebonee dodges the attack of another henchman, and parries off another and turns the dial on the bottom allowing yellow streaks to flow through the blade allowing sparks to shoot off from the blade. The blade of the henchman parries both her katana's allowing an electrical current to flow through the his blade, electrocuting him right before Ebonee kicks him to bowler hat's feet. Ruby fires again and brings the side down on one attacker and dodges the next's gunfire with her rifle's speed, getting close enough to knock him into the air and follow him upwards so she can beat him away to bowler hats feet as well.

"You were worth every cent. Truly, you were." He looks to ruby and Ebonee, dropping his cigar and crushing it with is cane and approaching before sirens are heard. "Well, Red; Icy, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening, and as much as I'd love to stick around..." He raises his cane and opens the bottom to reveal a rifle with a cross grid "...I'm afraid this is where we part ways." Bowler hat unleashes a red blast at Ebonee and Ruby, the latter, who grabs Ebonee and fires at the ground and leaps over it. When she lands and looks up, Bowler Hat isn't there, and is climbing up a ladder on a nearby building. Ruby looks to the Shopkeeper.

"You okay if we go after him?" She asks him

The shopkeeper gives a short "Uh huh", and Ruby and Ebonee sets off towards the man.

Bowler Hat makes it to the roof, with Ruby high-flying again and landing with Ebonee right behind him.

"Hey!" Ebonee calls

He stopped at the edge. "Persistent..." Ruby and Ebonee readies their weapons to fight him, but a getaway Bullhead rises up and opens the hatch to allow Bowler hat inside. Bowler hat turns around; holding up a red Dust gem. "End of the line, Red; Icy." He throws it out at her feet and fires at her, resulting in a large explosion.

"Whoa-ho-ho-ho!" He stops laughing when he sees something on the roof. "Huh?"

A woman in a purple cape is now in front of Ruby and Ebonee, casting a circle of protection over them with her wand. As Ruby looks on, The Woman waves her weapon and summons several streaks of purple at the craft. Bowler hat is thrown around in the back until he goes to the cockpit, where a woman in red, her face unseen, is struggling with the controls.

"We got a Huntress!" He calls.

The woman gets up and heads toward the back as Bowler Hat takes the controls. The Huntress glows purple for a moment and aims another blast above the craft, resulting in a dark storm-cloud right over the jet.

"The hell...?"

With a flick of her wand, large jagged hail starts falling that pummels the jet and even breaks through the window, narrowly missing Bowler Hat's head.

The woman reaches the back and her arms and chest light up like fire, aiming a burst of energy at the huntress. Ebonee's eyes widen at the power and energy the woman gave off, while the Huntress blocks it. The flame splatters behind her and glows hot with the enemy's raised hand. The huntress back-flips out of the explosion, which destroys part of the roof, and magically gathers the shards to create a large arrow, which she throws at the craft. The fiery woman shatters the arrow with several blasts, but it reforms just in time to hit the side of the jet due to Bowler Hat's quick aerial lean. The wreckage separates and reshapes into more arrows that encircle the jet, but the woman summons several glowing rings around herself that expand and destroy the shards. Ruby and Ebonee, finally acting, with Ruby reverting her scythe into its rifle form and Ebonee changing her katana's into their rifle forms as well to fire at the woman, who blocks each shot and creates several blazing circles around her three opponents. The Huntress telekinetically pushes Ruby, while Ebonee jumps up and flips out of the way; and rolls herself out of the explosion's radius; looking up to see the hatch close and the craft fly away.

Ruby looks at the huntress. "You're a Huntress!" Her face gains a pleading, awe-stricken look. "Can I have your autograph?!"

Later both Ruby and Ebonee are sitting at a table in a relatively dark room. The Huntress. Who had introduced herself as Glynda Goodwitch held a tablet computer, pacing around the table the two sat at. 

"I hope that you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young ladies. You put yourself and others in great danger."

"They started it!" Ruby said.

"What were we supposed to do? Let them rob us and that dust shop?" Ebonee asks. "I don't think so. My Mother told me to help anyone in need, whether you are at a disadvantage or not."

"If it were up to me, you'd be sent home... With a pat on the back..." She notices Ruby's smile "...And a slap on the wrist." She demonstrates with her wand, which Ruby barely avoids as she gives out an "Eeek! While Ebonee laughs. "But... there is someone here who would like to meet you." She moves out of the way so a surprised Ruby can see a man in green come through the doorway, holding a mug and a plate of cookies.

"Ruby Rose..." He leans in to look at her face. "You... have silver eyes." Ebonee giggles. The man looks at her.

"And you must be Ebonee Blake."

"Uh, um..." Ruby says while Ebonee looks at the man sheepishly.

"So! Where did you learn to do this?" He asks gesturing with his head at the tablet showing Ruby's and Ebonee's fighting.

"S-Signal Academy." Ruby answers.

"Starfield academy in Vacuo." Ebonee answers. 

"They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed, Ruby?"

"Well, one teacher in particular."

"I see..." He puts the cookies on the table in front of Ruby. She tentatively picks one up, eats it in a single bite, and then, not seeing any rebuttal, shovels the rest into her mouth. "It's just that I've only seen one other scythe-wielder of that skill before. A dusty, old crow..."

She mumbles through her full mouth. "Oh! That's my uncle!" She then swallows and wipes her mouth, embarrassed "Sorry. That's my Uncle Qrow! He's a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing. And now, I'm all like— Hooowaaah! Witchaaaa!" She says as she proceeds to make some karate-style poses and noises.

"And What about you Ms. Blake?" He asks her. "The kantana's are not as difficult, but with the ease you fought them with, well... I only know of two people who fought the way you do. An Angel, who is sadly no longer with us and a Scarecrow, I believe?"

A sad, forlorn look was briefly seen on her face before it was gone entirely. "My Mother, Arella, taught me before I was five and then my adopted Mother, Adria Straws, taught me everything else I know."

"The Headmistress at Shade Academy?" Glynda asks to which Ebonee nods. "She was my adopted mother before, when she was the Deputy Headmistress. Before Grandpa Aesir adopted me as well."

"So you are The Little Avian, Aesir talked about...." Glynda said. "Yeah. He taught me a lot too!"

"So I've noticed." He placed his cup on the table as he leans in, then sits down opposite Ruby. "And what are adorable girls such as yourselves doing at a school designed to train warriors?"

"Well... I want to be a Huntress." both girls say simultaneously, before looking at each other and giggled.

"You want to slay monsters?"

"Yeah! I only have two more years of training left at Signal! And then I'm going to apply to Beacon!" She started to talk faster and faster with her enthusiasm growing. "You see, my sister's starting there this year, and she's trying to become a Huntress, and I'm trying to become a Huntress 'cause I wanna help people. My parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, Hey, I might as well make a career out of it!" She giggles "I mean the police are alright, but Huntsmen and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool and really, gosh, you know!" She flips out at the last part, staring at the two with a wide, crazy smile"

"I..." Ebonee starts. the man looks to her. "I am on the same page with Ruby helping people. like her; I have two more years at Starfield. I want to make sure that no one else has to go through what I went through."

Glynda and Ozpin study both girls in front of them.

"Do you know who I am?" He asks

Ruby answers. "You're Professor Ozpin."

"You're the headmaster at Beacon." Ebonee finishes.

Ozpin smiles. "Hello."

"Nice to meet you." Both girls say.

"You want to come to my school?"

Both girls look at each other once more before smiling. "More than anything." The say.

Oxpin exchanged glances with Glynda, who shows her disapproval with a "Hmmph" before he turns back to Ruby and Ebonee. "Well, okay."

Ruby smiles, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Ebonee giggles at her shock.

The next day both Ebonee and Ruby were on one of the ships heading to beacon academy. Yang grabs Ruby in a giant bear hug while Ebonee sits on one of the seats next to the window

"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" Yang exclaims.

Ruby gasps for breath. "Please stop."

Yang releases her sister "But I'm so proud of you!"

"Really Sis, it was nothing."

"What do you mean? It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon is going to think you're the bee's knees." Yang says.

"I don't want to be the "bee's knees", okay? I don't want to be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees."

"What's with you? Aren't you excited?"

"Of course I'm excited... I just..." Ruby sighs "I got moved ahead two years. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything."

Yang gives her sister a one-armed hug "But you are special."

The girls' attention is drawn to the 2-D animated newscast on Vale News Network playing nearby, talking about the robbery and showing Roman's mug shot.

"The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you, Lisa."

The mugshot changes to Lisa Lavender, with a photo of animal-eared demonstrators holding signs saying "WE ARE NOT ANIMALS!" followed by an image of the logo of a growling red wolf's head with three scratch marks.

"Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted..."

The news feed is cut off as a hologram of Glynda replaces it.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon!" She says.

"Who's that?" Yang asks.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch."

"Oh."

Glynda continues "You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." The hologram disappears.

Ruby gives a cry of surprise "Oh, wow! Look, you can see Signal from up here!" (Ruby looks through the glass walls at the town below. "I guess home isn't too far after all!"

"Beacon's our home, now."

"She's right, Ruby." Ebonee giggles from her perch.

The three girls hear a passenger groaning and hunched over nearby, running to the back of the ship.

"Well... I guess the view isn't for everyone." Yang says as she rolls her eyes.

"It was a nice moment while it lasted."

The ship approaches Beacon flying across a large body of water.

"I wonder who we're gonna meet! I just hope they're better than Vomit Boy. Oh, Yang, gross! You have puke on your shoe!"

"Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!" Yang cries.

"Get-Get away! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me!"

Several minutes later, the ship lands near the school dropping off all the students on it. Ruby, Yang and Ebonee steps off the ship and onto the paved path towards beacon.

"Wow..." All three girls say amazed.

"The view from Vale's got nothing on this!" Yang states.

Ruby gets excited and becomes a chibi version of herself. "Ohmygosh, sis! That kid's got a collapsible staff! And she's got a fire sword!" She tries getting closer, but Yang pulls her sister by the hood back and out of Chibi mode. "Ow! Ooww!"

"Easy there, little sister. They're just weapons!"

"'Just weapons'? They're an extension of ourselves! They're a part of us! Oh, they're so cool!" Ruby says

"Well, why can't you swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?"

Ruby transforms her weapon into its scythe form. "Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose! I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people, but better..."

Yang playfully pushes her sister's hood down over her face. "Ruby, come on, why don't you go try and make some friends of your own?"

Ruby takes her hood off. "But... why would I need friends if I have you and Ebonee?" Ebonee smiles.

"Well..." In a flash, a group of other students surround Yang and they all dash down the road. "Actually, my friends are here. Gotta go catch up. 'Kay, see ya, bye!"

Ruby spun dizzy-eyed from Yang's sudden leaving. "Wait, where are you going?! Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms?" She stopped for a moment, still reeling. "I don't know what I'm doing..." Ruby falls backwards into a luggage cart, sending cases flying. 

"What are you doing?!" A girl with white hair in a white dress and a side ponytail stood over her.

Ruby got up on her hands. "Uh, sorry!"

"Sorry?! Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?"

Ruby held one of the cases. "Uuhhh..."

"Give me that!" She snatches the luggage from Ruby and opens it to reveal its twinkling-sounding contents. "This is Dust - mined and purified from the Schnee quarry!"

"Uuuhhhh..."

"What are you, brain-dead?" She held out two vials of red Dust and shut the case. "Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!"

"I... I know..." She starts coughing from the Dust pouring into her face.

Ebonee snatches the vial that was being shook in Ruby's face out of the girl's hands. "If you know so much about dust, girlie, why is this bottle not sealed properly. If you were paying attention to your actions you would have seen the dust flying out of the bottle. Any more of the dust hitting her face, would have made Ruby sneeze and nearly blow us off the side of the cliff."

Ebonee pulls the girl back as Ruby still sneezes, which erupts a small explosion of flame. The second bottle the girl had been holding flies over the courtyard and at the feet of a black haired girl with a little black bow, who picks it up and notices the Schnee Dust Company logo on the side as she reads from a book and looks over at the scene. 

Both Ebonee and the white haired girl was covered in soot, though it quickly disappears. "Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"

Ruby was apologetic and embarrassed. "I'm really, really sorry!"

"Ugh, you complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"

"Well, I-I..."

"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice, you know! We're here to fight monsters, so... watch where you're going!"

Ruby was finally fed up "Hey, I said I was sorry, princess!"

Ebonee turned to the girl. "And Princess, this is your fault not hers. Did I not just tell you that the bottles were not properly sealed. You are lucky you are only covered in soot and not an actual explosion that could have killed us.

"It's heiress, actually." All three girls look over as the black bowed girl approaches with the bottle. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

Weiss smiles smugly. "Finally! Some recognition!"

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners."

Weiss gets angry again as Ruby chuckles, and Ebonee grins. "Wha- How dare you- The nerve of... Ugh!" She gets up in the girls face and takes the bottle from her, walking off in a huff as her helpers gather the luggage and follow.

Ruby turns to the storming Weiss, still sorry. "I promise I'll make this up to you!" She sighs. "I guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day... So, what's..." She turns and sees the girl walking off as well, then collapses to the ground on her back. "Welcome to Beacon..."

Ebonee giggles. "C'mon. It won't be that bad.

Ruby remains on her back until a shadow comes over her.

A blonde boy held out his hand. "Hey... I'm Jaune."

Ruby took his hand. "Ruby." She says as she stands up. "Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?" She asks as the three of them walk off. Inside Beacon's walls are filled with scenic trees, arching architecture, and a winding road alongside a river, down which Ruby and Jaune are walking.

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" Jaune says.

Ruby laughes. "Look, I'm sorry! Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind."

"Oh, yeah? What if I called you Crater Face?"

"Hey, that explosion was an accident!"

"Well, the name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue - ladies love it!"

Ruby skeptically asks. "Do they?"

"They will! Well, I-I hope they will. My mom always says that... Never mind."

Ruby giggles before a short, awkward silence falls. "So... I got this thing!" She pulls out Crescent Rose and stabs it into the ground.

"Whoa! Is that a scythe?"

"It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle!" 

"A-wha...?"

Ruby cocks it, smiling. "It's also a gun."

"Oh. That's cool!"

"So what've you got?"

"Oh! I, uh..." He unsheathes the blade at his side. "I got this sword!"

"Ooooohh!"

"Yeah, and I've got a shield, too!" He gets his scabbard, raises his arm and expands the metal into a shield.

Ruby touching the shield. "So, what do they do?"

Jaune fumbles with the shield as it retracts off his arm, expands, and retracts again before putting it back in place and finally shrinking it down for good, placing it on his belt. "The shield gets smaller, so when I get tired of carrying it, I can just... put it away..."

"But... wouldn't it weigh the same?"

"Yeah, it does..." Jaune says dejectedly.

Ruby giggles. "Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, sooo... I guess I did go a little overboard when designing it."

"Wait - you made that?!"

"Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons! Didn't you make yours?"

"It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war."

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me!" Ruby laughs. "Well, I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."

Jaune sheathing his sword. "Yeah, the classics..."

Ruby turns to Ebonee. "So what kind of weapons do you use?"

"I use a pair of katana's that can turn into a twin blade form and into single barrel automatic rifles." She pulls out her katanas.

"They are pretty!" Ruby says.

Ebonee blushes. "Thanks. But that's not all they do. You two better stand back." Both Jaune and Ruby stood back and watched as the two katanas glow and merged into one weapon. Once they stopped glowing a large blue, black and white scythe was in her hand.

"That...Was... AWESOME!" Ruby exclaims, "Another scythe wielder!' 

"Ruby." "Ebonee says as she shakes her head. "I use my scythe form as an emergency, which is why it is not on any papers about me nor in my admissions to beacon. Because..."

"You don't want anyone else to know."

"Exactly, like I said; I want it to be used for emergencies."

Ruby starts moving again. "So why'd you help me out back there? In the courtyard?"

"Eh, why not? My mom always says, 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.'"

"Hmm." Ruby looks around. "Hey, where are we going?"

"Oh, I don't know! I was following you. Y-You think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some kind of recognizable landmark? Is, uh... Is that a 'no'?"

Ruby laughs. "That's a 'no'."

Ebonee giggles. "Unlike you two, I paid attention to everything around us. Come on."

Roughly 15 minutes later Ebonee, Ruby and Jaune enters Beacon Academy's giant auditorium, filled to the brim with people. Ruby looks over when she hears Yang's voice.

Yang wave "Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!"

"Oh! Hey, I-I gotta go! I'll see you after the ceremony!" Ruby says to Jaune as she leaves with Ebonee in tow.

"Bye Jaune." Ebonee calls out.

"Hey, wait! Ah, great. Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?!" He moves on to reveal a girl with her red hair in a waist-length ponytail, curled slightly into a loose ringlet; standing behind him, hand on her hips as she watches him walk away. She also wore light-green eye shadow around the far upper corners of her green eyes. She was tall and quite muscular compared to most of the other girls at Beacon. Her top consisted of two layers. The top layer was a light-brown, strapless top split divided vertically with some bronze patterns. It was quite stiff, maintaining its shape without support. It also had riveting or small, round embroidery on the sides, indicating heavy stitching. The bottom layer was a low bronze V-neck. She wore an elastic, black, A-line miniskirt and brown opera-length gloves on both arms. She wore a red, ankle-length sash that wrapped around her skirt. There was a small circular bronze plate by her right hip opposite two pouches with both connected to a belt. The plate bore her "shield and spear" emblem. Underneath her hair, she always wore a brown circlet adorned with a pair of small, green, teardrop-shaped emeralds on thin chains. She also sported a large bronze gorget around her neck, and a bronze bracelet on the upper half of her left arm. Next to her was a boy that was just a few inches shorter than her with shoulder-length silver hair and baby blue eyes. He was wearing dark maroon pants with a white button up shirt with puffy sleeves and black loafers. He wore a blue vest over the white shirt with brass buttons, a lavender tie and cloak with a maroon and lavender diamond pattern and a silver trim. The cloak is held at the neck by a silver chain held together by a crystal clear blue teardrop pendant.

"How's your first day going, little sister?" Yang asks with her arms crossed once Ruby and Ebonee joins her.

"You mean since you ditched me and I semi-exploded?"

"Yikes! Meltdown already?"

"No, I literally exploded a hole in front of the school! And there was some fire, and I think some ice...?"

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"I wish! I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I exploded, and then she yelled at me again, and I felt really, really bad, and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!" Ruby says as Weiss comes up behind her.

"You!"

Ruby quickly jumps into her sister's arms. "Oh, God, it's happening again!"

"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!"

"Oh, my God, you really exploded..."

"It was an accident." She says getting down. "It was an accident!" Weiss holds up a pamphlet titled "DUST for dummies and other Inadequate Individuals" to Ruby "What's this?"

Before Weiss could start talking, Ebonee grabs the pamphlet and tears it up.

"If it wasn't for Miss Prim and Proper here shaking the improperly sealed vial of dust we would have exploded!" Ebonee growled. "Did you learn how to properly contain them!?!"

"Look, uh, it sounds like you three just got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?"

"Yeah, Not happening." Ebonee growls.

"Yeah! Great idea, sis!" Ruby holds out her hand as she clears her throat. "Hello, Weiss! I'm Ruby! Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies!"

"Yeah! And we can paint our nails and try on clothes and talk about cute boys, like tall, blond, and scraggly over there!" Weiss says seemingly enthusiastic as she point to Jaune behind her.

"Wow, really?!"

There dead silence under Weiss's glare. "No."

"Well, obviously he's your type if your pointing at him, princess." Ebonee says. If looks could kill, Ebonee would be dead many times over.

"Miss Schnee, Are you already causing problems on the first day at Beacon? Why am I not surprised." They hear with tap of a cane. The girls turned around to see a boy that seemed to be just a tad taller than Ebonee herself with shoulder-length silver hair and baby blue eyes wearing a smug look on his face. He was wearing dark maroon pants with a white button up shirt with puffy sleeves and black loafers. He wore a blue vest over the white shirt with brass buttons, a lavender tie and cloak with a maroon and lavender diamond pattern and a silver trim. The cloak is held at the neck by a silver chain held together by a crystal clear blue teardrop pendant. A cane was in the crook of his right arm while the left arm was behind his back. 

"Pendragon." Weiss Growls.

"Schnee." He says charmingly. "I haven't seen you since the last Schnee Gala. If I recall correctly, you spilled your punch all over your dress."

"It was because either you or Whitley tripped me!" She shrieks.

"I did no such thing. You tripped over your own heels." He answers back. He turns to Ruby, Yang and Ebonee in front of him "Morgan, Morgan Pendragon, at your service." He says as he grabs Ebonee's hand and kisses it. 

Ebonee pulls her hand out of his as Yang elbows her, teasingly. "I'm sure you are." She says shyly.

"I'm quite impressed, I haven't seen someone take down Miss Schnee so quickly besides her own heel."

"You Neanderthal!" Weiss screeches.

"I offered my handkerchief. It was you who turned me down."

Their attention is drawn to the stage, where Professor Ozpin is readying the microphone, with Glynda beside him.

"I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction." The students whisper among themselves. "You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

As Ozpin leaves, Glynda steps up to talk. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

"He seemed kind of... off."

"It's almost like he wasn't even there."

Jaune approaches Weiss from the side. "I'm a natural blond, you know!"

Weiss puts her hand to her face in exasperation. Ebonee giggles at the interaction.

The first night at Beacon, students are splayed out in sleeping bags. Ruby, in her pajamas and with a sleeping mask around her head, is writing in a journal when Yang crashes next to her, similarly dressed. Ebonee laid on the other side of Ruby, She was wearing a pair of Red shorts with a white Tank top that has a black crow and raven circling a star.

"It's like a big slumber party!"

"I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though." Ruby said still looking at her journal.

"I know I do!" She purrs as she watches several muscular, shirtless guys... and Jaune, dressed in footie pajamas, waving to her, which makes her groan before she returns her attention to Ruby. "What's that?"

"A letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going."

"Aw, that's so cuuuute!" Yang is knocked back as two pillows are launched at her face, courtesy of Ebonee and Ruby.  
"Shut up! I didn't get to take my friends with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here!"

"What about Jaune? He's... nice! There you go! Plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase!"

"Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero..."

"Not at all Ruby." Ebonee Grins. "You've got me... And maybe Morgan? Though he is a little odd."

"What do you expect? He practically hit on you, and on the first day!" Ruby says.

"Besides there's no such things as negative friends! You just made one friend and one enemy!" She says. 

"Two!" Ebonee cries as Yang gets hit with two more pillows, this time looking like a dog (Ruby) and right after one with a reaven and a crow circling a star (Ebonee), to the face. "Look, it's only been one day. Trust me; you've got friends all around you! You just haven't met them yet!"

The two sisters and friend notice a candle being lighted nearby, and sees the girl in the black bow from before leaning against a wall, reading her book.

"That girl..."

"You know her?" Yang asks

"Not really. She saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything."

"Well, now's your chance!" Yang grabs Ruby's arm and lifts her up. Ebonee pulls Yang back, to which Yang responds by grabbing her wrist and pulls her as well.

"Wait! What are you doing?!" Ruby cries.

"Yang, let us go!!""

The bowed girl looks over her book to see Ruby and Ebonee unsuccessfully struggling against Yang's grip as she leads both girls over to her spot before letting go.

"Hel-looooo! I believe you three may know each other?" Yang sings

"Aren't you... that girl that exploded?" she asks

"Uh, yeah! My name's Ruby! But you can just call me Crater..." She smiles, embarrassingly. "Actually, you can just call me Ruby." Ebonee giggles.

She looks back in her book. "Okay."

Yang whispers to Ruby. "What are you doing?"

Ruby whispers back. "I don't know - help me!" 

Ebonee smashes her hand to her face in exasperation.

"So... What's your name?"

She sighs as she's distracted yet again. "Blake."

"Well, Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister! The one with black and white hair is Ebonee. I like your bow! "

"Thanks!" Blake says Irritated.

"It goes great with your... pajamas!"

"Right..."

"Nice night, don't you think?" Yang says as Ruby laughs uncomfortably.

"Yes - it's lovely! Almost as lovely as this book!" Ruby and Yang stand there while Yang holds onto Ebonee. "That I will continue to read." Ruby and Yang continue standing. "As soon as you leave!"

"Yeah, this girl's a lost cause."

"What's it about?" Ruby asks'

"Huh?" Blake asks surprised.

"Your book. Does it have a name?"

"Well... i-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body."

"Is that the The Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?" Ebonee asks. Blake nods. Ebonee sits next to her, pulling out a book seemingly out of nowhere. "My favorite from Robert Louis Stevenson, is Treasure Island."

"I'll have to read it. sometime."

"Yeah! If you want I can lend it to you when you are ready for it."

"Thanks."

"Oh, yeah... That's real lovely!" Yang States Sarcastically.

"I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters... They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress!"

Blake laughs a little. "And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"

"Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!"

"That's... very ambitious for a child." her smile turns into a frown. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."

"Well, that's why we're here! To make it better."

"Oh, I am so proud of my baby sister!" She hugs Ruby into the air. 

Ruby kicks out. "Cut it out!" The forced sisterly bonding evolves into a dust cloud of fighting limbs and flying stars.

Blake laughs slightly. "Well, Ruby, Yang, it's a pleasure to ha-"

Weiss storms over in her own pajamas as Ruby traps Yang's leg. "What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

"Oh, not you again!" Weiss and Yang cries at the sight of each other.

"Shh! Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!"

"Oh, now you're on my side!"

"I was always on your side!"

"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice!"

"She's a hazard to my health!"

Blake, rolls her eyes at the fight and notices that Ebonee has already fallen asleep leaning on her shoulder. She simply closes both their books, and reaches over to grab her candle, and blows it out, enveloping the entire room in black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Straws is pronounced Strouse.


	2. Initiation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read and review

"Wake up, lazy bud!" Ebonee jolts awake at the loud noise causing Blake to wake up.  
"Sorry Blake!"  
"It okay, Ebonee."  
A black haired boy with Magenta eyes and a magenta stripe in his hair gets up with a groan as a girl with orange hair and Aqua colored eyes hounds him.  
"It's morning! It's morning! It's morning! It's morning!" She sings  
Then he sighs again as he brushes his teeth in the restroom while she continues to talk.  
"I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full twenty-four hours! Not that I thought we'd get kicked out or anything, I mean, you're the perfect student and I'm... well, I'm me! But it's just crazy, you know?"  
Next they are in the ballroom, where the two are readying themselves. The girl is brushing her hair and still chattering while he is tightening the strings on his sleeping bag.  
"We've been friends for soooooooo long! What are the odds we'd still be together? Well, not "together-together..." Not that I'm not saying that you're not handsome; you are handsome, but that'd just be weird, right?"  
"Right! What was I thinking? But still, I hope we end up on the same team together!" she says muffled through her food. "Oohhhh! We should come up with some sort of plan, to make sure we end up on the same team together! What if we bribe the headmaster? No, that won't work. He has the school. She slurps up the rest of her pancake.  
Next the two are readying themselves in the locker room, With him loading his weapon and her still talking... again.  
"I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal!" She gasps. "A secret signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a sloth?"  
"Nora?" He says finally replying.  
"Yes, Ren?"  
"I don't think sloths make a lot of noise." He says sheathing his weapons in his sleeves.  
Nora thinks about this for a moment. "That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together!"  
Ren smiles and shuts his locker. "Come on Nora, let's go."  
"Not "together-together"..." She giggles.  
Ren heads out while a skipping Nora follows, passing Ruby and Yang as they are busy readying themselves.  
"Wonder what those two are so worked up about?"  
"Oh, who knows?" Yang answers.  
"But they seem happy." Ebonee says as she walks up.  
Yang grins. "So, you seem awfully chipper this morning!""  
"Yep! No more awkward small talk or "getting-to-know-you" stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." She says stroking Crescent Rose as she sighs happily.  
"Well, remember, Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation. If you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together."  
Ruby sighs in frustration. "You sound like Dad!" She shoves her weapon into the locker. "Okay, first of all: What does meeting new people have to do with fighting? And secondly: I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk!"  
“But what about when we form teams?” Yang asks her.  
“Um, I don't know, I... I'll just be on your team or something...” Ruby says nervously.  
“Maybe you should try being on someone else's team?” Yang questions, bringing her hair around her shoulder, stroking it.  
“My dear sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?” Ruby asks her.  
“What? No! Of course I do! I just thought... I don't know, maybe it would help you... break out of your shell!”  
“What the-?! I don't need to 'break out of my shell'! That's absolutely ridiculous!” Ruby exclaims.  
"Ridiculous!" Jaune says suddenly walking in between the sisters, holding a map; looking lost. "There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday! I would've remembered having to count that high! Why does this have to happen today?"  
Jaune passes Weiss, Pyrrha and Morgan as they ready themselves at their lockers.  
"So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on?" Weiss asks her. "I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual such as yourself!" She says.  
"Hmm... I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may." Pyrrha answers her.  
"Well... I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together." Weiss informs Pyrrha.  
"Well, that sounds grand!"  
"Great!" She cries  
Jaune pops in between them. "You know what else is great? Me. Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."  
"You again?" Weiss asks irritated  
"Nice to meet you, Jaune!" Pyrrha says  
“Yeah, yeah.” Jaune says as he pushes Pyrrha aside, posing slightly at Weiss. “So, Weiss, couldn't help but overhear your fondness of me the other day.”  
“Oh, you've got to be kidding me!” She cries  
“Don't worry! No need to be embarrassed! So, been hearing rumors about teams! I was thinking you and me would make a good one! What do you say?”  
“Actually,” Pyrrha starts, capturing Jaune's attention. “I think the teams are comprised of four students each, so-”  
“You don't say.” Jaune says cutting her off and advances on his new target. “Well, hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team.”  
Weiss separates the two. “Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?”  
“Not in the slightest, Snow Angel.” He answers her.  
“This is Pyrrha.”  
“Hello again!”  
“Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum!” Weiss explains.  
“Never heard of it.” Jaune says.  
Weiss scoffs. “She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row! A new record!”  
“The what?” He asks.  
Weiss waves her arms rapidly in anger “She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!”  
Jaune gasps. “That's you?! But they only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!”  
“Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you.”  
“So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?” Weiss asks.  
Jaune hangs his head. “I guess not... Sorry...”  
“Actually, Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader!”  
“D'oh, stop it!” Jaune says immediately brightening back up.  
“Seriously, please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!” Weiss says.  
“Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick! Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you. What do you say?”  
“Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately.” Glynda's voices the announcement over the intercom system.  
“Spots are filling up quick! Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you. What do you say?” Ebonee hears Jaune ask.  
“All right, that's a bit too close! Pyrrha, a little help, please?!”  
Jaune looks back just in time to see Pyrrha's spear, Miló strike him, sending the would-be leader flying; pinning him to the wall.  
“I'm sorry!” She calls to him.  
"Well you know princess, you are more than capable of taking care of things on your own..." Morgan says.  
"Shut it you!" Weiss says as she passes Morgan and Jaune the latter whom hung from the wall of a locker on her way out. Pyrrha follows her, grabbing her spear and dropping Jaune to the ground.  
“It was nice meeting you!” She says before leaving the locker room.  
“Likewise...” Jaune says slumping against the locker.  
“Having some trouble there, lady-killer?” Yang asks as Ruby, Ebonee and herself approaches him. Ruby holds out her hand.  
“I don't understand. My dad said all women look for is confidence! Where did I go wrong?" He asks accepting Ruby's offered hand and uses her to lift himself back up.  
“"Snow Angel" probably wasn't the best start.” Yang comments.  
“Come on, Jaune, let's go.” Ruby says as she leads Jaune out of the locker room by supporting him and his damaged self-esteem.  
Several minutes later everyone stood over beacon Cliff, overlooking a forest, where several students — some old, some new, and some unseen — are standing on silver tiles in front of a mug-holding Professor Ozpin and Glynda with her tablet. Ebonee stood at the end nearest to Ozpin and Glynda. With Jaune next to her and Ruby on the other side of him.  
“For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest.” Ozpin says.  
“Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams."” Glynda explains. “Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today.”  
“These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well.”  
Ruby groans again. “What? Ohhh...” Ruby groans.  
Ebonee smiles and looks at Ruby. 'Don't worry, Ruby. It will work out in the end.' She thinks.  
“That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years.” Ozpin explains.  
“Whaaaat?!” Ruby cries with a shocked expression as if her world cracking like glass and falling apart.  
Nora turns to Ren. “See? I told you-!”  
“After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die.”  
Jaune laughs nervously and then gulps loudly.  
“You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?”  
“Yeah, um, sir?” Jaune asks raising his hand.  
“Good! Now, take your positions.”  
Everyone strikes a pose on their tile. Nora crouches low, Ren wields his weapons, Yang raises her fists, Ruby and Ebonee both ready their bodies, and Jaune is still raising his hand.  
“Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question.” He misses the tile under Weiss rising up into a springboard, rocketing into the air and over the forest, as the platforms activate down the line. “So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?”  
“No. You will be falling.” Ozpin answers.  
Jaune misses more students being thrown off the platforms. “Oh, uh, I see... So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?”  
“No. You will be using your own "landing strategy."”  
“Uh-huh... Yeah. “ Jaune says not seeing an excited Nora and Ren getting launched.  
At her turn, Yang winks at her younger sister, puts on a pair of aviators, and flies off with a "Woo-hoooooooo!" a second before Ruby joins her.  
“So, what exactly is a landing strategYYY!...” He asks as he is hurled into the cloud of students now making their way down into the forest below under the eyes of the teachers. Ebonee bends her knees ready to be launched, but is not thrown into the air by the platform. She looks in Ozpin's direction.  
“Miss Blake, Just know that I have my eyes on you and expect many things from the Crow's daughter.”  
Ozpin takes a sip of his drink as Ebonee is launched into the forest by her platform.

A black bird is flying slowly and magnificently, right up to the moment it gives a final shriek as Ruby crashes through it in a burst of feathers as she plummets downward.  
“Birdie, no!” She cries.  
Ruby fires off a few rounds from Crescent Rose to slow her down, then turns the weapon into its scythe form to catch the branch of a tree in her blade and fall downward at a slower pace.  
Weiss, armed with Myrtenaster, summons a white snowflake circle under her and leaps off of it to the forest below.  
Ren descends with Nora Valkyrie briefly being seen next to him at a faster speed and spins in the air, eventually using the blades attached to his weapon to spiral around the trunk of a large tree and hit the ground, brushing off his clothes before looking up to see...  
“Woo-hoo! Yeah! Alley-oop!” Yang, soaring right over the treetops, is using her gauntlets and its fiery force to push her through the air further and further north, spinning and laughing with each blast, even when she crashes through the leaves of a tree and leaps off two trunks to tumble to the ground.  
“Nailed it!” She says as she runs off.  
Pyrrha, with her weapon in sword form and armed with a shield, crashes through several trees and rolls on a branch, immediately shifting her blade into a rifle and looking through the scope at Jaune as he continues to scream and fall helplessly. Pyrrha coolly transforms her weapon again to its spear form, takes a moment to evaluate her throw, and rockets the javelin deep into the forest until a "THUNK!" is heard.  
“Thank you!” Jaune cries in the distance.  
“I'm sorry!” Pyrrha says as she waves apologetically.  
Ebonee free falls through the air forming shadow-like wings to slow her descent. Once she was close to the forest she dissipated the shadows and used her twin blades to slide down the tree before landing one of the tree branches and bolting off onto multiple tree branches throughout the forest.  
Ruby lands in the middle of the forest, in a crouch, then darts off with a single mantra in her mind.  
'Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta find...' She thinks. “ Yang! Yaaaang!” She shouts. 'Oh, this is bad, this is really bad... What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first? Well, there's always Jaune. He's nice. He's funny! ...I don't think he's very good in a fight, though. Ooh! What about Blake?! So mysterious, so calm... Plus she likes books! Then again, I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her... Ugh!' She thinks seeing herself partnered with various people. She shakes her head of daydreams. 'Okay... Who else do I know in this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, aaaand...' Time seems to slow down as Ruby skids to a halt in front of Weiss as she is turning to face her. She stops just in time for their eyes to meet and a pregnant pause follows. This ends when Weiss turns on her heel and walks the other way.  
“Wait! Where are you going?!” Ruby asks following her slightly before she stops and kicks the ground dejectedly. “We're supposed to be teammates...”  
Weiss struggles through the forest, giving an occasional grunt or "Ow!" as she pushes plants out of her way. She brushes herself off and sighs in relief when she hears a voice above her.  
“Come on, come on! Stupid...!” Jaune says struggling to free himself.  
Weiss sees Jaune hanging a few feet in the air by the spear embedded in his hood and the tree behind him. As he gives up trying to pull it out, he looks down and sees Weiss, giving an embarrassed wave. Weiss simply heads back in the direction she came from and Jaune groans in dejection.  
Weiss passes Ruby and pulls on her hood. “By no means does this make us friends.”  
“You came back!” Rub cries overjoyed as she's dragged away into the bushes.  
“Wait! Come back! Who's going to get me down from here?!” Jaune calls seeing them leave, waving his arms.  
"Jaune?" Pyrrha calls from below. He looks down at her. "Do you... have any spots left on your team?"  
Jaune crosses his arms. “Very funny...” He eventually looks back down at her and gives a smile, which she returns.  
Weiss trudges through the forest, with Ruby a few feet behind her.  
“What's the hurry?” Ruby asks.  
“I will not let my mission be delayed because you're too slow! I swear, if I get a bad grade because of your—“ A smiling Ruby suddenly appears next to her “What the...?”  
“I'm not slow, see? You don't have to worry about me!”  
Weiss looks back, slightly amazed. “When did...?”  
“Weiss, just because I don't exactly know how to deal with people doesn't mean I don't know how to deal with monsters!” She places an arm around a skeptical Weiss' shoulders. “You're about to see a whole different side of me today, Weiss, and after it's all over, you're going to be like, "Wow! That Ruby girl is really, really cool... and I wanna be her friend!"” She says before disappearing in a shower of rose petals, which Weiss waves away from her face just as she hears crackling and rustling in the bushes around her.  
“You may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time!” Weiss calls out to Ruby. Silence follows, then more crackling and rustling in the bushes. “Ruby?” The forest darkens, forcing Weiss to lean in to try and find her new partner as a pair of red eyes are seen glaring behind her. “Ruby...?”  
Weiss turns as multiple pairs of red eyes stare at her from the bushes and a deep growl is heard. She turns around to see a large, jagged Beowolf emerging from a bush and approaching her.  
“Ruby!” Weiss cries as the Beowolf roars.  
A few minutes later, Yang is walking and looking around.  
Yang calls out “Helloooooooo?” A shadow quickly passes unnoticed by her. “Is anyone out there? Helloooo?" She stops and raises her arms. “I'm getting bored here!” She turns hearing a rustling in the bushes behind her. “Is someone there?” The rustling continues as Yang comes over and peaks inside. “Ruby, is that you?”  
A low, inhuman growl is heard, and Yang's head rises up as she stares at the creature.  
“Nope!”  
Yang quickly rolls to the side as an Ursa charges out of the bushes. She gets up and activates her gauntlets, staring at the monster before another Ursa runs out behind her. She leaps over it, and its companion runs at her again, only to get knocked back by a fiery punch. The other Ursa and Yang charge at each other, and Yang manages to get under it and deliver several punches and a kick to send the creature back.  
“You guys wouldn't happen to have seen a girl in a red hood, would you?” She asks them. They merely growl at her in response. “You could just say "no".”  
One of the Ursai stands on its legs and swipes at her twice. Yang barely dodges the attacks.  
“Geeeez, you two couldn't hit the broad side of a ba...” Before she can complete her insult, a single strand of her golden hair falls in front of her face and lands on the forest floor. “You...” She closes her violet eyes, then opens them to reveal red, making the Ursai look at each other confusedly. “You monsters!!!” Yang screams.  
An inferno surrounds Yang for a moment, and she rockets forward, unleashing a devastating combo of flaming hits and blows on the offending Ursa, making it fly through several burning trees. The other monster runs over, but stops short at Yang's gaze while a tree falls to the ground behind her.  
“What! You want some, too?!”  
The Ursa rears up and prepares to strike... right when a whirling noise is heard and the monster makes a befuddled noise, falling down a second later to reveal Blake with her blade in the beast's back.  
Yang pants in exhaustion while Blake recalls the weapon back to her hand, sheathing it on her back and smiling to the side. Yang, now purple-eyed again, speaks to her new partner over the smoking remains of the monster. “I could've taken him.”  
In another part of the forest Weiss deflects a swipe from a Beowolf with her rapier and getting pushed back into the middle of the beastly circle. She holds out the rapier as she goes through her dueling motions and practices.  
'Remember your training, Weiss. Head up, shoulders back, right foot forward — not that forward! — slow your breathing, wait for the right time to strike, and...' She brings her rapier up, the revolver spinning. 'Now!'  
Weiss dashes forward with her loaded weapon at the Beowolf in front of her, just when Ruby suddenly appears between the two in a blur of rose petals and a swipe of her Crescent Rose scythe, landing a hit on the monster.  
"Gotcha!" Ruby cries.  
Weiss widens her eyes and screams as she quickly stops, swinging the sword in a random direction and creating a line of fire that sets a nearby tree ablaze, followed quickly by the rest of the forest around the clearing.  
Ruby, distracted by Weiss' mess-up, is barely able to defend when the same Beowolf scratches at her weapon, knocking the younger girl into the heiress.  
"Hey, watch it!" She yells  
"Excuse me! You attacked out of turn! I could have killed you!" Weiss argues.  
"You'll have to try a lot harder than that..."  
The duo wield their arms as the pack of Beowolves whine and growl around them. Ruby reloads her scythe just as a flaming tree falls near them.  
Weiss grabs Ruby's arm. "We have to go!"  
She leads Ruby out of the blaze as it engulfs the grass and sets the Grimm to running back the way they came or suffering in the fire.  
Ruby and Weiss stop a safe ways from the smoke and flames. Weiss learns over and pants as Ruby looks behind her.  
"What was that?! That should've been easy!"  
"Well perhaps if you had exercised even the slightest amount of caution with the placement of your strikes, I wouldn't have set the forest on fire!"  
Ruby scoffs. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
"I'm just surprised someone who talks so much would communicate so little during an encounter!" Weiss yells.  
"Well, I'm sorry you need my help to win a fight. I'm just fine on my own!"  
"Well, congratulations on being the strongest child to sneak your way into Beacon. Bravo!" Weiss says as she begins to walk off on her partner yet again. Ruby, with an agitated shriek, unfolds Crescent Rose, slices a tree down to the stump, refolds it back, and follows her partner as the tree crashes behind her. Neither notice the large dark feather floating onto the fallen trunk behind them.

Meanwhile Ebonee Started to form black and blue snowflake patterns and ran down them.Not too far from one of her platforms a giant Nevermore sat in its hidden nest and woke just as Ebonee passes it. The Nevermore beats its wings lifting itself off and out of the nest it was in. All of a sudden the tree starts to slide and fall making the nevermore off-balanced. The Nevermore flapped its wings to get its balance back, but in the process one of its wings hits Ebonee sending her off careening towards one of the other students.  
"Watch out!" She cries as she quickly flies towards a familiar silver-haired student. The said student turns around just in time to catch her and holds his cane out in which the top shoots out and grapples onto one of the trees allowing the both of them to land on the ground safely. After a minute she pulled herself from his grasp.  
"Thank you, Morgan." She says courteously.  
"You are most welcome." He answers her.  
"I guess that makes us partners." She says  
"Indeed it does." Morgan says grinning. "Shall we continue on? "  
"Yes. But lets go that way. I do not really want to deal with the Nevermore at this time."  
The two of them headed in the opposite direction of the Nevermore. Seconds later they hear what sounded like a woman scream.  
"Sounds like a damsel in distress." Morgan comments.  
"No, that's just Jaune." Ebonee says looking at him. Her red eyes showing a larger silver ring in them.  
"Oh? So we have to save a Jaune in distress?" Morgan asks.  
"No. I think Pyrrha has it handled." Ebonee comments.  
All of a sudden to their left Pyrrha stops right next to Morgan. "You guys might want to run." As soon as she had said that, a death stalker appeared out of the foliage in which had the three of them running.  
"Son of a bitch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I was in a really bad car accident September 27-28th on my way to work (I work 12:30am to 9:30am) that almost killed me and was unable to update until now. I am okay and made it through with 5-7 fractures down my spine [Which I am in a body brace for(two of those fractures in my neck and have a neck brace)], a couple fractures in my ribs and a really bad face injury with a head injury that I needed staples for. I am almost fully healed and will find out in January if both braces come off or if just the body brace comes off.


	3. Teams and Bullies

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark." The auditorium screen shows each of their profiles as the boys are lined up for the applauding audience to see as Ozpin continues. "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester!"

The audience gives one more wave of ovation, while four students walk up to the stage to take their places in front of the headmaster as their faces fill the screen.   
"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR."  
Amid the clapping, Nora laughs and gives Ren a hug.   
"Led by... Jaune Arc!"  
"Huh? L-Led by...?" Jaune says confused.  
"Congratulations, young man. "  
A grinning Pyrrha offers a friendly shoulder bump to Jaune, but her "fine leader" is knocked over and falls to his butt in front of the laughing audience.   
"Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long." He says as he motions over to the four as they stand before him. "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose!"  
Weiss looks to her right surprised, where Ruby is obviously in shock as Yang goes over to hug her sister.   
"I'm so proud of you!"   
"And finally: Morgan Pendragon. Ebonee Merle Blake. Rouge Micheals. Bao Chae-Won. The four of you retrieved the White king and White Queen pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team EMBR. Led by... Ebonee Merle Blake!"  
Ruby and Rouge jumps on Ebonee from the back hugging her. "Congrats." Both girls say simultaneously.   
"Thanks Ruby, Rouge." Ebonee says. "I think congrats are in order for you as well Ruby."  
"It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year."

The next morning had Team EMBR in one of the classrooms with several other students. Just as the bell rings, both Team RWBY and JNPR enter the classroom. An older hunter; one that appears to be in early old age walks into the classroom after the two teams sat down. He wears a double-breasted burgundy suit with gold piping and buttons. His pants he wears tucked into olive boots, similar in appearance and construction to cavalry boots. He has gray hair and a gray mustache and appears to be slightly overweight. 

"Good morning Class. I am Peter Port; your Grimm studies professor. You may call me Professor or Mr. Port. Or you can just call me Peter." He says laughing, his belly visibly shaking up and down. "So lets get started with my lesson for today, Shall we?" He asks before moving on. "Monsters! Deeeemons... Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Ha-ha!" The members of RWBY, seated on the front row, are in varying stages of interest; Blake and Yang are sitting up and paying attention, Weiss is taking notes, and Ruby has her head propped in her hand as she takes a quick nap until she is woken back up by Port's bad joke, which receives a cricket-filled silence as a result. Both Ebonee, Morgan and Bao pays attention to Port as he is talking while Rouge slept. "Uhhhh... And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying: Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses..." he says as he gives Yang a wink, which she groans uncomfortably at. "Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the very world!" Ports loud voice wakes Rouge.

"Ayyyy-yep!" She yells with her fist up and stands like this for a moment as everyone looks at her strangely before sitting down, embarrassed. Ebonee giggles.  
"That is what you are training to become. But first: A story. A tale of a young, handsome man... Me! When I was a boy..."   
Weiss notices Ruby is very focused on penciling the paper in front of her.   
"...Despite smelling of cabbages, my grandfather was a wise man. 'Peter', he told me..."   
Ruby snickers at her creation and shows it to her teammates: A general ball-with-limbs-and-a-head drawing of the teacher with stink lines coming from him and "Professor Poop" written underneath. Blake and Yang are heard laughing, but Weiss looks annoyed.   
"Ah-heh-hem!" Port says as he waits until he has their attention again. "In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!"   
The teacher takes a bow as Weiss slowly gets more and more frustrated with Ruby's antics.   
"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable!"   
Ruby is balancing an apple on a book with her pencil held only by her finger while making a silly face.   
"A true Huntsman must be dependable!"   
Ruby has fallen asleep again in the first class of the year.   
"A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!"   
Ruby is not-so-subtly picking her nose, much to Weiss' building anger.   
"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"   
Weiss raises her hand. "I do, sir!"   
"Well, then, let's find out!" He turns and gestures at the glowing red eyes surrounded by shadow shaking the cage that traps it. "Step forward, and face your opponent!"   
Several minutes later Weiss, now back in her regular attire, readied her Myrtenaster at the growling creature barely able to be seen in the cage. Her teammates cheer her on from their seats in the front row.   
Yang raises her fist. "Goooo, Weiss!"   
Blake Belladonna waves a small flag saying "RWBY" on it. "Fight well!"   
"Yeah, represent teeeeam RWBY!"   
Weiss lowers her sword and looks over at her "leader". "Ruby! I'm trying to focus!"   
"Oh, um... Sorry..." Ruby says sheepishly. Ebonee glares at Weiss.  
"Allllright!" Port says standing next to the cage, pulling out his axe. "Let the match... begin!" The professor swings down and breaks the lock, dropping the cage door and revealing a Boarbatusk inside, which immediately charges at Weiss. She uses Myrtenaster to deflect its attack and roll to the side, readying herself for its next move. The Grimm stands a distance away from its enemy, studying her. 

"Ha-ha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?" Port laughs.  
"Hang in there, Weiss!" Ruby calls  
Weiss is now speeding towards the oncoming Boarbatusk, sticking her blade straight at its skull until they meet and Myrtenaster is trapped in the beast's tusks. Weiss is still hanging on to the hilt, and is tossed around as she struggles to get the rapier back.   
"Bold, new approach. I like it!"   
"Come on, Weiss, show it who's boss!"   
Weiss turns to glare at Ruby, only for the Boarbatusk to turn its head and rip the sword from her grip. Myrtenaster lands far away from its master, who is knocked back by the creature's tusks.   
"Oh-ho! Now what will you do without your weapon?"   
Weiss looks up just in time to see the Boarbatusk to charge again, rolling out of the way just in time to avoid getting trampled and make it crash into a desk. Weiss rushes at her sword and slides to get it back in her hand.   
"Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armor underneath-" Ruby starts to say.  
Weiss turns to Ruby. "Stop telling me what to do!"   
Ebonee's glare darkens. "That Schnee brat is starting to piss me off." She says. Rouge looks at her in surprise.  
"She's always pissed me off." Morgan comments

Ruby looks hurt at Weiss' rebuttal. Meanwhile, the Boarbatusk leaps into the air and rolls into a ball, spinning rapidly in the air and landing on the ground, consistently gaining speed until it launches itself at Weiss. It comes closer and closer, but Weiss activates one of her blue-white circles and blocks the roll, leaping up into the now-black snowflake symbol and turning it blue again so she can drive the blade into the Boarbatusk's stomach. It squeals and falls silent while Weiss gasps in relief. 

"Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training!" Weiss stands up at attention from her exhausted position and Ruby continues to frown. "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"   
Weiss glares and turns away, walking hurriedly to the exit past her teammates. Ebonee turns to her team. "I'll meet you guys back at the dorm."  
"Sheesh, what's with her?" Jaune asks; watching her leave.  
The remaining members of team RWBY look at each other with the same question. Ruby runs after her with Ebonee in tow.  
Weiss is still storming off, but Ruby turns a corner and manages to catch up with her.   
"Weiss!" Ruby calls.  
Weiss turns around. "What?"   
"What's wrong with you? Why are you being-?"   
"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? You're supposed to be a leader, and all you've been so far is a nuisance!" Weiss says.  
Ruby scoffs. "What did I do?"   
"That's just it - you've done nothing to earn your position! Back in the forest, you acted like a child, and you've only continued to do so!"   
"Weiss, where is this coming from? What happened to all the talk about 'working together'? I thought you believed in acting as a team."   
"Not a team led by you. I've studied and trained. And quite frankly, I deserve better." Weiss turns her back to Ruby, who tried to reach out but dropped her hand with the following words. "Ozpin made a mistake." She says as she walks away with Ruby looking dejected. Ebonee came up to Ruby/ and placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder.  
"Hmm... Now that didn't seem to go very well." Ozpin says standing right behind a surprised Ruby and Ebonee with a coffee in one hand and his cane in the other.  
"Is she right? Did you make a mistake?" Ruby asks looking doubtful, on the verge of tears.  
"That remains to be seen." Ozpin says laughing slightly.  
Weiss is still walking around the halls until she comes across a balcony where Professor Port is watching the sunset over Beacon Academy's rooftops.   
"Professor Port!" Weiss calls approaching him.  
Port turns to look at her. "Ah, Miss Schnee! And to what do I owe this fine pleasure?"   
"I... I enjoyed your lecture!"   
"Of course you did, child; you have the blood of a true Huntress in you."   
"You really think so?" Weiss asked smiling.  
"Most surely!" He says before he notices Weiss' small frown and lack of eye contact. "Hmm... Something's troubling you."   
"Yes, sir..."   
"Dear girl, confess to me your strife!"   
"Well... I-I think I should have been the leader of team RWBY!"   
Port was silent for a moment before he speaks. "That's preposterous!"   
"What do you mean?" Ruby asks.

"I mean, it's only been one day. Ruby... I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet. But at this moment, I would not consider your appointment to leader to be one of them." He leans in so he can look more directly at Ruby. "Do you?"  
"Excuse me?!" Weiss says getting angry.  
"I've believed in Professor Ozpin for many years, and the man's never once led me astray!"  
"So you would just blindly accept his decision even after seeing how exceptional I am?"  
"With all due respect, your exceptional skill on the battlefield is matched only by your poor attitude."  
"How dare you!" Weiss says seething.  
"My point exactly. I see a girl before me who has spent her entire life getting exactly what she wanted."  
Weiss crosses her arms, looking defiant "That's not even remotely true!" Under the teacher's gaze, she reluctantly relents: "Well... not entirely true."  
"Being a team leader isn't just a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly. If you're not always performing at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?" Ozpin asks.  
Ruby looks thoughtful with Ozpin's words, then smiles at him.  
"So the outcome did not fall in your favor. Do you really believe that acting in such a manner would cause those in power to reconsider their decision?" Port asks as Weiss finally calms down and looks at him again. "So instead of fretting about what you don't have, savor what you do. Hone your skills, perfect every technique, and be not the best leader, but the best person you can be."  
Weiss smiles a little at the words of wisdom.  
Ozpin turns around, his back facing Ruby. "You've been burdened with a daunting responsibility, Ruby. I advise you take some time, to think about how you will uphold it."  
Ruby, with a last look of consideration, turns and walks away. She comes to the balcony where Port is walking away from Weiss and smiles a little at her partner. "Ruby." Ebonee calls softly making the young girl look at her.   
"Right." Ruby says. "Lets go get Yang."  
Several minutes later Ebonee, Ruby and Yang sat in the courtyard.  
"So what did you need to talk to us about?" Ruby asks.  
"...Remember when Ozpin asked you about your Scythe skills?" Eabonee askes after a minute  
"Yeah. I told him my Uncle Qrow taught me." Ruby asks. "But what does that have to do with this conversation?

Ebonee pulls out a picture of a young woman with white hair and silver eyes wearing a snowflake necklace sitting next to a man with graying black, spiky hair, dull red eyes, and slight stubble along his jawline. He wore a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. attached to his dress shirt was a red, tattered cloak. He also wore a ring on his right index finger, two other rings on his right ring finger, and a necklace with a crooked cross-shaped pendant around his neck. The young woman wore what looked like a white battle kimono that looked alot like Ebonee's own dress.

"Uncle Qrow!" Both Ruby and Yang cried.   
"Where did you get this picture?" Ruby asks.   
"And who is the woman?" Yang asks.  
"The picture belonged to my mother who is the woman in the picture. Her name is Arella Blake. She passed away 10 years ago. And according to the letter from my mother; the man is my father. Qrow Branwen." Ebonee says shyly. The sisters gaped at her in surprise.  
"That means your our cousin!" The sisters say simultaneously.  
"That's why you chose to learn the scythe!" Ruby says excitedly.  
"What?" Yang asks confused.   
Ebonee shakes her head. "That is correct."   
"Our lovely cousin here is a self taught scythe wielder." Ruby says as she giggles.   
Yang looks at her in shock. "That is amazing." She comments. "When I first met you, I thought you looked a lot like Uncle Qrow."  
Ebonee giggles before laying back in the grass. "When do you see him next?" She asks.  
"Its hard to tell." Ruby answers. "But when he does visit us next we can have you meet him."  
"Awesome." Ebonee says looking at the darkening sky. "Maybe we should get to bed. It is getting dark."  
"You're right." Ruby agrees as she gets up. She leaves her arm out to help both Yang and Ebonee up. The three girls head back to the dorm rooms. Ebonee stops at her door. Ruby and Yang stop at their door that was just a few feet down from her own. "Goodnight Ruby; Yang. See you in the morning." She calls quietly.  
"Good night Ebonee." The sisters quietly answer her. The sisters enter their room.  
Ebonee smiles before entering her own room. She looks up to see that her entire team was still up waiting for her to get back. Rouge speaks up.  
"So what did you need to talk to them about?" She asks Ebonee.  
"Remember how I have a family from my dad's side?"  
"Yeah."  
"Well, Ruby and Yang are my cousins. Their uncle is my dad. But according to them he doesn't know he has a daughter yet. so once he comes to visit them next, they will introduce me."  
"Awesome! You finally found your dad's family!" Rouge says excitedly.  
"What about your mom?" Bao asks curiously.  
"Bao that is not exactly a fond subject-" Rouge starts to say.  
"Its okay Rouge." Ebonee says. "She right though, Talking about my mom is not a fond subject, but you guys should know."  
Ebonee sits on the bed that held a throw with little crows and snowflakes all over. She picks up the throw and hugs it to her chest. "Rouge and I were born in a little town in Vacuo called Aldair, which was well know for their unusual springs. 10 years ago Aldair was overrun by hundreds of Grim. I was five and Rouge was 7 at the time and I did not quite understand what was going on when my mother hid me." Ebonee's eyes were starting to overflow with tears. "But once I got out and ran outside I saw my mother's body under the grim, something snapped inside me. I saw two lights, silver and black destroy all the grim around me and near the village. Hunters from Shade came a few minutes later to see the destruction. They brought me to Shade. Rouge was brought not much later where we were adopted by The current Headmistress as her daughters and the previous Headmaster as his granddaughters." Rouge turns to Morgan.  
"What about you Pretty boy?"  
"The correct term term would be Charming." He says. "And well what do you want to know? There's not much to me... I have my mother, My father, and older sister and a company that I will be running by the time I'm 25."  
Rouge looks at him with a glare. "That is not what I meant and you know it." She says. "We want to know about you. That is just too vague."  
"I'm from Mistral..." He says smirking. Ebonee giggles. The Crescent moon in Rouge's hair starts turning red.  
"Rouge, He's just messing with you. Calm down." Ebonee turns to Morgan. "And you! I have enough trouble keeping her Semblance under control. Once her semblance goes off we need a teacher to hold her."  
"Well... If it cannot be helped." he sighed, crossing his legs. "I am Morgan Pendragon. My mother is Afiya Pendragon Nee Tawney and my father is Edgar Pendragon. I hail from Mistral, heir to the Pendragon Dust Threads. I do have an older sister, ten years my senior, who has since married and has a young daughter. Does that sate you, Rogue?"  
Rouge growls in response and then sticks out her tongue childishly before the crescent becomes fully gold again. Rouge turns to Bao. "What about you, Bao?" She asks curiously.  
Bao seemed to jump, "Oh! uh... Well... I'm from Atlas..." She stated, poking her index fingers together.  
"You harassed me enough as it, why not leave her lone?" Morgan asked.  
"But..."  
"Rouge, if she doesn't want to say anything; she doesn't have to." Ebonee tells Rouge before turning to Bao placing her hand on Bao's shoulder. "We will be here when you are ready to tell us." She says softly. She turns to Morgan. "Wait a minute... Pendragon..." She smashes her hand to her head in exasperation.   
"Yes and what of it?" Morgan asks.  
"You wouldn't have happened to be at the Vytal Festival that was in Haven seven years ago?" She asks.  
"My family attends every Vytal festival." He comments. "Though we are particularly fond of haven's one since we sponsor them."  
"The one before last in Haven? Was it the one Team GNJR fought in?"  
"Of course, that was their senior year."  
"That's what I thought."  
"Thought about what?" He asks confused.  
"That was you and your sister, I met at the festival. You looked so adorkable in that suit. I can believe I didn't recognize you."  
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Ebonee turns around to pull out a picture album. "Your sister and I would have to disagree on that." She says as she opens the book to a certain page. On one of the pictures on the page held two children, a girl and a boy, about 8 and a 20 year old woman standing behind them. The woman with Dark auburn hair and blue eyes was wearing a pink over the shoulder dress with green spaghetti straps and a green under bust ribbon. She also wore a pair a brown tights. on her feet were a pair of green flats. The little girl standing in front of the woman had short black hair with white fox ears, Slit red eyes - each with a silver ring, and a short bushy fox tail wearing a blue childs tube top with a pair of black tights and red combat skirt. On her feet were a pair of black flats. The little boy standing next to her had silver hair and baby blue eyes. He was wearing white buton up shirt with a pullover sweater, knee length shorts, knee-length socks and a pair of loafers.  
"I still don't know what you are talking about." Morgan says. Ebonee glares at him before sighing, knowing that he will not give up.   
"Have it your way, Morgan." She says. "You and I both know who it is in those pictures."

Several days later, Ebonee and her team sat down with Teams JNPR and RWBY. She sat next to Blake with Morgan on the other side of her. Rouge sat next to Ren with Bao on the end across from Morgan. Nora seemed to be telling a story as they had come up.  
"So! There we were, in the middle of the night..." Nora explains.

"It was day." Ren says.

Blake was lost in her book, therefore not paying attention while Yang, who is hanging on her every word with her hands cupping her face. "We were surrounded by Ursai..."

"They were Beowolves." Ren says as he held a coffee cup.

"Dozens of them!" She screams this as she stands at the table; Weiss ignoring her; filing her nails, Ruby and Pyrrha are listening politely, and Jaune is messing with his food.

"Two of 'em."

Ruby and Pyrrha looked Jaune with concern; whom seemed to be distant from everyone.) "But they were no match... And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!"

"She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now."   
Rouge giggles. " That is some imagination."

Pyrrha looks at Jaune. "Jaune? Are you okay?" She asks.

Jaune snaps out of it, turning back toward them. "Huh? Oh, yeah! Why?" He asks.

"It's just that you seem a little... not okay..." Ruby states.

Jaune as the others stop their distractions and stare at him. "Guys, I'm fine. Seriously! Look!" He holds up a thumb while laughing nervously until his attention is focused on the members of Team CRDL, standing around a girl with brown rabbit ears jutting from her hair as Cardin laughs at her and Sky Lark holds up his hands to his head in a mock interpretation of her unusual features. Bao starts smiling cutely at CRDL. Ebonee sees the smile.  
"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school!" Pyrrha says  
"Who? Cardin Winchester? Nah... He just likes to mess around! You know, practical jokes!"  
"He's a bully." Ruby states.  
Jaune scoffs. "Oh, please! Name one time he's 'bullied' me."  
"For one, Cardin knocks your books out of your hands." Ruby says.  
"He messed with your sheath as he passed you making it turn into shield form to get stuck in the doorway," Nora ays  
"He pushed you in your locker and sent you to a random location." Ebonee says in a deadpan.  
Jaune attempts to laugh it off. "Thanks to Bao, I didn't land far from the school!" He looks at Bao. "Did I ever thank you for that?" he asks nervously.  
Bao looks around the room nervously. "I don't know what you're talking about."  
"Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask."  
"Ooooh!" Nora says cutting off Pyrrha as she gets up from the table and presents her diabolical plan with a not-entirely-sane grin. "We'll break his legs!"  
"Guys, really, it's fine! Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me; he's a jerk to everyone."  
They all looks over as the laughing grows louder, mixed in with cries of pain from the rabbit girl when one of her ears are tugged on by Cardin.  
"Ow! That hurts!" The faunus says as she stops struggling and grimaces. "Please, stop..."  
Cardin continues laughing as he turns to his cronies. "I told you it was real!"  
"What a freak!" Russel Thrush says still guffawing with his teammates.  
Bao jumps out of her seat and strides over to team CRDL and the bullied Faunus.

"What's Bao doing?" Rouge asks.  
Ebonee smiles knowingly. "She is going to throw out the trash."  
Bao walks over to the boys bullying the rabbit. She gets Cardin's attention before throwing a punch in his face that sends him sprawling on the floor. Dove immediately retaliates and throws a punch at Bao. Using his own momentum against him she sidesteps under his arm and throws him over her shoulder. Russel grabs her from behind while Sky attacks from the front. Bao kicks Sky in the chest the force throwing him onto Dove and sending Russel towrds the floor. Russel lets go of Bao as he falls and she lands on her feet.

Minutes later a teacher; a middle-aged woman with very light-blonde hair tied back in a bun with a curl hanging down the right side of her face. Her eyes are bright green and she wore thin ovular glasses. On her ears was a pair of teal earrings with a matching pendant that hung on her collar. She wore a white long-sleeved, pleated top that has a wide keyhole neckline and gauntlet cuffs that flare in pleats at the wrist. Her lower body is covered by a black high-waisted pencil skirt with bronze buttons and black-brown stockings. She also wore a pair of black boots with bronze heels, and a cape is black with a purple inside. The end of the cape is styled to look like flames and arrows, with a row of diamond-shaped bronze beads on the back. Above the line of beads, appears an emblem of a tiara that is her personal symbol.

"What is going on in here?!?!" The teacher screeches. Immediately Bao disappears.

"Bao Chae-Wong attacked us for no reason Professor Goodwitch!" Cardin says as team CRDL got up.

"Bao Chae-Wong?! I suggest show yourself, young lady!" Glynda says. Immediately Bao appears next to her. Glynda gets a good look at her before turning around. "We will speak in my office. Come Miss Chae-Wong." Glynda leaves with Bao in tow.   
"That is not true and you know it, Cardin!" Ebonee yells at a smirking Cardin as soon as the doors close, glaring at him; her eyes glowing a silvery icy blue combination.  
"Oh and what would you know, you dumb animal?!?!" Cardin says still smirking.  
"Oh the fact that you have been bullying us Faunus, no matter what year they are since you started here?!?!" Ebonee screeches surprising everyone at her ferocity. "I suggest you knock it off! We are training to become Hunters and Huntresses. Start acting like one!"

Cardin finally relents and the girl stands up and hurries off, her head bowed and hiding her face from the watching table of heroes.

"Atrocious. I can't stand people like him."

"He's not the only one..."Blake says as she staring at Cardin with daggers in her eyes.

"It must be hard to be a Faunus." Yang says as she leans her head on her hand, sadly.

Having gotten up from the table, Jaune looks back at his friends and sighs to himself before moving on with his tray table. He doesn't realize that Cardin is watching his walk of shame with a sinister grin.

Jaune slept with his head resting in his hands in the classroom while a constantly-zooming and fast-talking Professor Oobleck is in the middle of his hyperactive lecture, educating Weiss, Blake, Pyrrha, Velvet, and a leaned-back Cardin directly behind Jaune. Next to Velvet sat both Ebonee and Rouge.

"Yes! Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution--more popularly known as the Faunus War--" He zooms up to the front of the class and the map covered in papers behind his desk. "--humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie." He then points at the map of said-area with his stick, then zooms off to the side for a sip of his coffee before appearing in front of the desk. "Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!" He says as he zooms around the classroom more, sipping his coffee again before continuing to zoom and continues. "Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?"

Some of the students raise their hands. Velvet, Rouge and Ebonee, after a moment, does the same. 

"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence!" He takes another sip of his coffee. "I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang! Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War?" Weiss raises her hand. "Yes?"

"The battle at Fort Castle!" She answers.

"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

Unseen by the professor, Cardin flicks a paper football at Jaune's head, causing him to wake up.

"Hey!"

Oobleck zooms over into Jaune's face. "Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?"

"Uhhhh... The answer... The advantage... that the Faunus..." He looks behind Oobleck's focused face at Pyrrha, who coughs and motions to her lips as she gives him the answer. "...had over that guy's stuff..." He sees Pyrrha cup her hands around her eyes and goes for the most obvious answer. "Uhh... Binoculars!"

While Jaune looks pleased with his answer, the class laughs at him and Oobleck whom was back at the front of the class; sips his coffee. Pyrrha sighs and slaps a hand to her forehead as Cardin pounds his fist on his desk while chortling.

Oobleck, zooming back behind his desk. "Very funny, Mr. Arc! Cardin! Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject!"

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin answers him.

"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?" Pyrrha asks as Oobleck shakes his head.

"Honestly, I doubt it, Pyrrha." Ebonee comments.

"What? You and that Faunus brat got a problem?" Ebonee glares at Cardin.

"No, I have the answer! It's night vision." 

Ebonee speaks up. "She's right. Many Faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark." Cardin growls at both girl's correct responses.

"General Lagune was inexperienced, and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured." Blake says as she turns to Cardin. "Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure."

"Mr. Winchester! Please take your seat." Oobleck says as Cardin gets up from his seat, fist clenched. "You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings." He says when Jaune laughs at his tormentor's embarrassment, zooming up to him, before taking yet another sip of his coffee.

"Oohhhh..." Jaune says slumping his shoulders.

Oobleck zooms away. "Now! Moving on!"

When the lesson ends, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren with Ebonee and Rouge in tow come out of the classroom, only for Pyrrha to stop near the doorway. Ebonee and Rouge wave to the rest of JNPR before walking off. With that class being her last class of the day, Ebonee walks Rouge to her next class, before going on a walk. Not too long after, She hears Jaunes voice.  
"I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests. I didn't earn my spot at this Academy! I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied!" She hears him say.

"What? But... why?" Pyrrha asks.  
"'Cause this is always what I've wanted to be. My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors! They were all heroes! I wanted to be one, too. I was just never good enough." He explains  
"Then let me help you!" Pyrrha states.  
"I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!"  
"Jaune, I-"  
"I'm tired of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives! Don't you understand? If I can't do this on my own... then what good am I?"  
"Just... leave me alone. Okay?"  
"If that's what you think is best..." Pyrrha says sadly.  
Ebonee hears the footsteps of Pyrrha as she walks away, her footsteps getting softer and softer until she leaves the roof. She hears Cardin laugh.  
"Oh, Jaune..." Cardin says.  
"Cardin!"  
"I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room. So, you snuck into Beacon, huh? I gotta say, Jaune, I never expected you to be such a rebel!"  
"Please, Cardin, please, don't tell anyone!" Jaune begs.  
"Jaune, come on! I'd never rat on a friend like that!"  
"A... a friend?" He asks  
"Of course! We're friends now, Jauney boy! And the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time. That being said, I really don't have time to do those extra readings Dr. Oobleck gave us today. Think you could take care of that for me, buddy? That's what I thought. Don't worry, Jaune; your secret's safe with me." She hears Cardin shut the doors of his window. She walks back into the the building and heads towards her dorm.

Ebonee was walking with Ruby heading back to their dorms they see Jaune hang his head as close the door to his dorm.

"Hey, Jaune!" Ruby calls out to him. Startled, Jaune turns around to see both girls in their pajamas, and she giggles at his reaction. "Long time, no see! Did you lock yourself out again?"

"Oh, uh, nope!" He says as he raises his Scroll, attempting to laugh. "Got it!"

"So! Where have you been lately?" Ebonee asks cocking her head to the side cutely.

"I, uh..." He tries to come up with something, but just sighs and lowers his head. "I messed up. I did something I shouldn't have, and now Cardin has me on a leash, and Pyrrha won't even talk to me, and..." He breathes heavily through his nose. "I'm starting to think coming to this school was a bad idea." He presses his back to his team's door and slides down to the floor in depression. "I'm a failure."

"Nope!" Ebonee says.

"'Nope?'" Jaune asks looking at them in surprise.

"Nope! You're a leader now, Jaune. You're not allowed to be a failure." Ruby explains.

"But... what if I'm a failure at being a leader?"

Ebonee thinks about it for a moment. "Nope!"

Jaune laughs as both girls join him on the floor. "You know, you're not the easiest people to talk to about this kind of stuff."

Ruby and Ebonee look at each other looking like they are having a conversation with each other. They look back at Jaune afterwards. "Nope!" They both say as Jaune leans into the door some more.

"Jaune, maybe you were a failure when you were a kid..." Ruby says as Jaune groans and sinks lower to the ground.

"... and you might've even been a failure the first day we met!" Ebonee says as he groans and lowers more to the ground. "But, you can't be one now. You know why?"

"Uhhh, because...?" Jaune asks.

"Because it's not just about you anymore. You've got a team now, Jaune. We all do! And if we fail, then we'll just be bringing them down with us." Ruby says as she gets up and places her hands on her hips as she speaks. "We have to put our teammates first, and ourselves second."

"Your team deserves a great leader, Jaune. And I think that can be you." she walks over to her door and opens it as Jaune, now slightly inspired by her words, watches her wave. "Have a good night, Jaune!" Ruby says as she goes inside her dorm room.

"Good night, Jaune" Ebonee says as she enters her room as well.

The next Morning Glynda was leading teams RWBY, JNPR, EMBR, and CRDL through a forest bustling with red leaves and gray trunks.

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so." Glynda says to the group.

The group stops, and Jaune, grunting and carrying a large case with six empty glass jars on top, tries to catch up with them and ends up bumping into Cardin. The bully scowls at Jaune, who attempts to feign innocence by whistling tunelessly.

"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap." Glynda says still instructing her group, holding up a full jar of their objective. "However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at 4 o'clock. Have fun!"

While Yang and her sister smile at one another, Jaune attempts to sneak away from Cardin to his team, but the blackmailer sees this and grabs Jaune by the back.

"Come on, buddy - let's go!"

Jaune miserably looks up at his team, where Nora and Ren are already walking into the forest's depths and Pyrrha is staring sadly at the scene. Dropping his gaze, Jaune turns and follows CRDL, to the disappointment of a sighing Pyrrha before she continues on. Ebonee and Bao looked up as Cardin pulled Jaune away before hearing the roar of an Ursa.

"Did you guys hear that?" Ruby asks getting up with a concerned look on her face.

Suddenly, the remaining members of Team CRDL are seen running the other way from the roar through the other students.

"Ursa! Ursa!" Russel yells before he accidentally runs into Yang.

"What?!" Yang asks, completely unfazed by his collision, as she picks him up by the front of his shirt. "Where?"

"Back there! It's got Cardin!" Russel says struggling, still running in air, but points back from where they came. 

Pyrrha drops jar of sap. "Jaune!" She cries.

"Yang! You and Blake, go get Professor Goodwitch!" Ruby orders to which Yang drops Russell before she and Blake nod and follow the orders.

Pyrrha and Ebonee turn to Ren, Nora, Morgan and Rouge "You two, go with them! There could be more!" Both Pyrrha and Ebonee say as they and Ruby. When they got to the clearing they saw Cardin is attempting to run from the following Ursa. It leaps over Cardin and claws him away. He tries to get up and crawl away.

"Crap! Crap, crap!" He cries.

"Oh, no!" Pyrrha cries as the girls got there

They watch as the Ursa leans over the helpless victim, raising its paw and swiping it down... only to be blocked by Jaune's shield, Crocea Mors. He struggles to defend a stunned Cardin from its attempts to lean on him, but Weiss lifts Myrtenaster as she prepares to go help.

"Wait!" Pyrha says to Weiss.

Jaune takes the shield out from the Ursa's paw and slashes at its stomach, causing it to lash out and try to crush him. He rolls out of the way and jumps over its swipe at his feet, but he is unprepared for when it launches a claw at him in midair. He lands far away, yet is immediately back on his feet and passing Cardin as he charges again. The Ursa knocks Jaune behind it when he tries for a leaping attack, and he looks at the Scroll in his shield to find out that his Aura level is in the red. He grows angry again and starts to run at the Ursa as it also begins to dash towards him.

As they are just about to clash in slow-motion, Pyrrha sees that Jaune has left himself completely open to the Ursa's attack, and lifts her hand out to him, gathering dark red energy in her arm. Just as the Ursa is about to hit him, the glow surrounds Jaune's shield and makes it lift up to block the swipe. Jaune uses the surprise defensive move to lean on the ground, push his shield back up, and swing his blade right through the Ursa's neck. The head falls to the ground as the body slams onto the ground.

"Uhhh... What?" Ruby asks confused as Pyrrha's hand stops glowing and she smiles.

"How did you...?" Weiss asks amazed

"Well, Ruby has her speed, you have your glyphs; Bao has her Animal mimicry; and Ebonee... well we don't know exactly what hers is. My Semblance is polarity." Pyrrha

"Whoa, you can control poles..." 

"No, you dunce! It means she has control over magnetism!"

"Magnets are cool, too..." Ruby whispers still impressed.

"Wait, where are you going?" Weiss asks noticing that Pyrrha has started to leave.

"Yeah! We gotta tell them what happened!" Ruby says

"We could... Or perhaps we could keep it our little secret?" She says as she walks away. Ebonee smiles as she follows Pyrrha with Bao in tow. Ruby and Weiss smile to each other in understanding.

"Holy crap, Jaune!" Ebonee hears Cardin say.

"Don't ever mess with my team - my friends - ever again." She hears Jaune threaten Cardin. "Got it?"

The girls get back to the clearing where the rest of Team EMBR, RWBY and JNPR was running with Glynda and Professor Peach in tow.

"Is everyone okay?" Both professors ask. Ebonee nods. "Jaune and Cardin are fine and right behind us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here is chapter 3. At one point I lost nearly the entire cafeteria scene and had to write the part that was missing from memory, but its all good. Anyway, Enjoy!


	4. Discontinued

I am sorry everyone, but with my co writer no longer assisting me with this story, I have to discontinue this one. Before I can put up the updated story, i have to update the team and characters as I have a new co writer.


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